Landscape Paintings

Hebden Bridge Mill

1 hour

This water colour painting represents the wild bohemian hippie commune of Hebden Bridge. Soft coloured pencil was used to highlight details in the line work. The yellow building in the mid ground compliments the purple sky and shadows which creates a dream like affect. Warm and cool colours such as purple and yellow create a contrast in temperatures.  The use of simple shapes creates a flat and abstract style. Both the green roof and worn textures in the brush strokes add a European Italian theme. The  mood of the piece  feels psychedelic but relaxed which represents the area well.

North Cliff Woods

1 hour

This water colour canvas painting creates the vision of the tranquility and spirit of a spring woodland path. A selection of varied brushes were used to capture the thick foliage and the soft landscape. The use of colour creates a calm and earthy tone that compliments the layering, the background consists of softer strokes while the foreground uses harder strokes to create the wild flora and trees. The soft brush strokes add a mystical element to the overall piece. The rugged path adds a harder texture that contrasts with the soft background, the path also helps direct the eye to the golden section.

Interior drawings

Cartwright Hall Gallery

2 hours

This multimedia piece represents a grand art gallery in Lister park. The shading has a weaker intensity to focus on the ornate, decorative arches and fixtures, this makes the interior look clean and crisp like refined stone or marble.   Markers were used to highlight the shapes of the arcs and columns. The composition is asymmetric which makes the angles stand out more and adds more depth. The piece uses soft pencils and pen, however the pen lines are not very noticeable. This is positive because if they had been darker it may have spoiled the perspective and shading, creating a flatter and less interesting image.     

Museum of Animation 

1 hour and a half

This soft coloured pencil drawing captures the insanity and psychedelic nature of the animation exhibit at Bradford Multimedia museum. The use of colours adds a feeling of playfulness and enchantment, this describes the artists and animations it possesses. The curved walls create the feeling of surreal cartoon background paintings with a distortion of perspective and reality. The colours and shapes also feel like a science fiction comic from the 50's because of the light fixtures and the rounded windows. The composition of the drawing displays a use of the golden section, this can be seen in each corridor leading the viewers eye down the parallel paths. 

Landscape Drawimg

The Garden in Winter
1 hour 

This multimedia piece captures a traditional British wildlife garden in the middle of winter.
It depicts the hope and delight of the first snow fall of winter, although it is bleak and barren, emphasized by the smudging of the soft pencil. The way the source light is shining in between the trees and refracted in the snow shows the symbol of hope. This has been achieved by removing excess smudging using an eraser, this lights up the sky creating the effect of a snow storm. The man made objects appear flattened almost abstracted like a stage production. The minimal use of colour adds a subtle vibrancy.

Saltaire Abbey
1 hour

This is a soft pencil drawing of the church in the historical Victorian village of Saltaire. The drawing has simplistic shading which allows more focus on the lines and shapes of the architecture.The building is cylindrical in structure with the wedding cake like tiers captured by the royal Victorian architectures. The juxtaposition of the lamp post in the foreground gives the piece more depth and visual appeal, using asymmetric context. The eye is guided through the picture by the lines of perspective leading to the main entrance. The clouds in the background are undeveloped in shading and form which makes the sky look incomplete.  

The Urban Ghetto of Bradford University

2 hours

This is a multimedia drawing that captures an urban scene that has been abstracted with other man made objects in a university library. The shading and texturing uses smudging with soft and hard pencils, this gives the environment a dirty and uncomfortable atmosphere. To add the shading of wet and damp cement an eraser was used to create the slippery water refraction of the puddles. Pipes are implemented to add an industrial tone, the use of minimal colour on the pipes adds a subtle vibrancy that helps guide the eyes through the seedy alley. The shapes of the architecture are surreal which reinforces the nature of this compressed space.

Animal anatomy

Sea Eagle

1 hour

Here is a pencil drawing of a taxidermy eagle at the Leeds museum, drawn with a mixture of hard and soft  pencil. Notice the use of speckling achieved by a careful use of the eraser to create an effect of feathers on the specimen. The anatomy was taken into consideration as well as the proportions of the wings and body. the stand was added to add staging. The expression of the face is well defined capturing the majestic nature of the solitary bird. The lighting lighting and shading add a feeling of imminent  motion. The bird appears at rest yet there is a hidden readiness for the hunt.

Still lifes

Autumnal display

2 hours approximate

The arrangement of organic materials like the fruits and flora give this still life an autumnal theme. This could be stronger if the piece had a splash of colour to capture the mood of the autumn season. On the other hand black and white makes it stand out more, as the focus is on the shapes and shading. The use of reflective man made lamps and vases contrast with the earthy organic shapes of the plants. The set up of the implied line and rule of thirds draw the eye across the display. however not everything fits into the picture e.g the end of the handle on the mug is halved. This detracts from the display as it is all pushed to one side in a bunch.

The flower in the vase appears not to be carefully observed as though drawn from the mind instead of from observation. This could be solved by moving closer to the subject for more detailed observation.

Explorers Loot

1 hour approximately

This piece shows an attempt at adding colour using pencils, The focus of this still life are the features that make these objects special. These have been slightly abstracted to make it less complicated and more appealing to the eye in its simplicity. For example, the wax on the candle exaggerates the dripping nature of the material and the use of shading highlights the thickness of the wax, Another example of this are the different layers in the crystal. Unlike the drawing 'Growth' this piece applies colour very gently which adds more intrigue. The implied line gives a feeling of perspective with this piece, however the horizon line does not have enough detail in the form of shading. The practice is in the top left corner draws the eye away from the main subject.

The shading on the lamp and candle holder uses cross hatching, this makes the objects appear to almost leap off the page and also represents the perspective.

Reflection

1 hour approximately

Paint Palette Still Life

2 hours

This still life has a good focus on composition and shading. The implied line follows with the perspective, which allows the eye to follow a path of interest. There has been a key focus on creating a clear perspective, this has been achieved with an application of the rule of thirds and the staging. However the one aspect that is less accurate is the table, It appears to bend. This is the drawback of the picture. Notice the use of texture created using an amalgamation of cross hatching and other shading techniques. The only other issue with this drawing is that the end of the left paint tube could be more clearly defined, this could be achieved by filling in the line work more.

Figure Drawing

Family sketches

2 min sketches

These sketches show figure drawing practice using members of a family to discover drawing a range of poses. The sketches were done with soft pencil, this shows the mood of the family being relaxed in the living room. The sketches were drawn quickly to focus more on the shapes, poses, expressions and personality. The line work is simple to focus on the main details. The spacing of the sketches are very even and have a solid structure of organization behind the free flowing forms. The size and mannerisms show the age of the subject, for example the exhausted mother sitting by the tv or the cosy toddler taking a moments rest.   

Growth

30 mins to completion

This picture was made with a more expanded choice of mediums. A varied choice of coloured pastels brings the motion of the model to life. The use of earthy colours like green, yellow and turquoise give the canvas an organic appeal of flora. This adds an element of fantasy because it appears like a woman made of plants, gradually growing from out of the ground. Using a slight smudge technique it gives the poses more motion and raw energy and black highlights make the image stand out. The free and open strokes of the pastels make this piece very expressive and surreal.
The back of the woman standing up almost appears as a portal to another world, hence what looks like a waterfall in a rain forest. The scapula has the appearance of mossy rocks forming a waterfall to the forest floor. The only critique is that the arc of motion could be a bit smoother in the way that the poses flow together.

Frozen Hearted Soul.

30 mins exact

This image was one of the first to incorporate acrylic paints. expanding the choice of mediums. Notice the simplicity of primary colours, the blue represents shade while the yellow is light. The colour and positions of the model create a feeling of sadness and depression, The use of body language conveys this. Blue and yellow are also opposites on the colour wheel allowing a strong contrast. Other mediums involved using a variety of brushes to convey different shapes and patterns, Note how a fan brush was used to add pointillism on  the lighting and shading adding some abstraction. The use of colour could be interpreted as water or ice.

                  

Fiery Mountain of Life

25 mins exact

This image was the first experiment using very limited colour to convey a mood. The painting shows movement of a man getting off the ground and standing up. In this example the painting could be interpreted as the use of fire and its unpredictability. Notice how as the model gets further away the colours become paler and the fiery man gets less powerful as he fades like a blown out candle. The dripping effect adds a slight sense of macabre perhaps showing fire can become uncontrollable and dangerous. The critique for this piece would be to add stronger highlights to make the man stand out.

here is my university blog where I will be showcasing my artwork